WASHINGTON, April 2, 2013 /Christian Newswire/ -- In response to Republican Sen. Rob Portman's announcement that he now accepts same-sex "marriage" because his son is homosexual, Regina Griggs, executive director of Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays & Gays (PFOX), said:

As the mother of a homosexual child, I understand how Sen. Portman feels. It is not easy, but as a responsible parent I must stand firm in my belief that marriage must remain as that of a man and a woman. To deliberately deny children a mother or father by supporting genderless marriage will create grave consequences. All children do best who live in a society where healthy relationships come from living with and being exposed to both genders.

What I, like tens of millions of Americans, think is best for society may seem like lack of support for homosexual people. Not so. We must look to what is best for the culture as a whole. All of my children, homosexual and heterosexual, benefit by living in a free society that is made possible only by legal and cultural encouragement of strong, mother-father-based families.

Which parent would Sen. Portman have missed if he had been raised by male homosexuals or a lesbian couple? Would he rather give up his Mom or his Dad? As adults looking back on our childhood, would any one of us have forfeited our mother or father and not have noticed? Yet children manufactured with anonymous sperm sellers or rent-a-surrogates and acquired by same-sex couples for self-gratification live with this kind of discrimination from the moment of conception.

As the executive director of PFOX, I believe parents do not have to approve of everything their children do and say. Responsible parenting means loving and respecting our children in spite of our differences.

The gay lobby insists that parents can love their children only if they affirm same-sex "marriage," and, sadly, that's what they are teaching our children. Don't believe it, Sen. Portman. An organization comprised largely of parents of homosexual children, PFOX knows that parents and children can love one another unconditionally, without stipulations or strings attached. Parents like Sen. Portman and me can love our children without having to support genderless marriage.